Recipe: Gingerbread Roll with Lemon Cream Filling (Gourmet magazine, 1992)

GINGERBREAD ROLL

4 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar, divided use
a pinch of cream of tartar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
Lemon Cream Filling (recipe follows)
Confectioners' sugar (for sifting over the cake)

Line a buttered jelly-roll pan, 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 by 1-inches, with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the short sides, and butter the paper.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg yolks, add 1/2 cup of the sugar, and beat the mixture until it forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted.

In a bowl with cleaned beaters beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks, add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, a little at a time, and beat the meringue until it holds stiff glossy peaks.

Onto a sheet of wax paper sift together the cornstarch, the flour, the ginger, the nutmeg, the cloves, and the cinnamon. Stir the cornstarch mixture and the molasses into the yolk mixture and stir the batter until it is combined well. Stir one fourth of the meringue into the batter to lighten it and fold in the remaining meringue gently but thoroughly.

Turn the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly.

Bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350 degree F oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the paper pulls away easily from the sides of the cake. Let the cake cool in the pan, covered with a slightly dampened kitchen towel. (The cake will puff up when baking but will sink as it cools.)

TO FILL AND ROLL THE CAKE:
Cover the cooled cake with a sheet of parchment paper, invert a baking sheet over the paper, and invert the cake onto it. Peel off the top sheet of the parchment paper carefully and spread the filling over the cake, leaving a 1-inch border all around. With a long side facing you and using the parchment paper as a guide, roll up the cake jelly-roll fashion, wrap it in the paper, and chill it on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.

The cake may be made 4 hours in advance and kept covered and chilled.

TO SERVE:
Transfer the cake to a platter, remove the paper, and trim the ends on the diagonal. Sift the confectioners' sugar decoratively over the cake and serve the cake at room temperature.

LEMON CREAM FILLING

3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup strained fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin, softened in 1 tablespoon cold water
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

In a heavy saucepan whisk together the egg yolks, the sugar, the lemon juice, the gelatin mixture, and the zest and cook the mixture over moderate heat, whisking, for 8 minutes, or until it is thickened.

Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter. Transfer the mixture to a bowl set over a large bowl of ice and cold water and chill it, stirring, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it is very thick but not set.

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the cream until it holds stiff peaks, fold it into the egg yolk mixture gently but thoroughly, and chill the filling, covered, for 30 minutes.

Source: Gourmet magazine, 1992
From: SueA, CA - 07-28-97